Digital and Technology

Advancing
knowledge, shaping policy and inspiring practice on digital development is
critical to achieving the Institute of Development Studies’ vision of reducing
inequalities, accelerating sustainability, and building secure and inclusive
societies.

Over the past
two decades the digital revolution has ushered in transformative changes to the
ways we communicate and organise, with many cascading effects across social,
economic and political spheres. With the advent of newer developments,
including artificial intelligence, 3D printing and robotics, yet more profound
changes are anticipated in the years and decades to come.

Our cutting-edge
research and analysis on the reality of digital development provides insights
and ideas for policymakers and practitioners within development and
humanitarian organisations seeking to better understand and realise the promise
of the digital revolution for poor and marginalised communities.

Collaboration for impact

The quality and
impact of our work depends upon us collaborating with governments, international
NGOs, local civil society, citizens, donors, businesses and many others to
achieve positive change, strategically informed by research and knowledge.

Consulting services

Our consulting
services focus on our clients’ most critical issues and opportunities surrounding
digital strategies for human development. We bring strong technical,
cross-disciplinary expertise grounded in real-world experience and are known
for bringing a holistic lens that acknowledges the economic, political and
social contexts of digital development. We work
with a wide range of clients on both short and long-term projects. Recent clients
include the UK Department for International Development, USAID, German Corporation for
International Cooperation (GIZ) and Australian Government Department of Foreign
Affairs and Trade.

The Human Development Innovation Fund (HDIF) identifies and supports innovations that have the potential to create social impact in education, health and WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) across Tanzania. More details

This six month collaboration between the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's InnovationXchange (iXc) and the Digital and Technology cluster will strengthen DFAT’s capability to appropriately use technology to more effectively deliver aid outcomes, building on its existing expertise and experience. More details

The project will focus on the growing importance of real-time data and in particular how digital tools can be used to generate information in support of more adaptive, contextually relevant, decision-making and programme management and implementation More details

Making All Voices Count: A Grand Challenge for Development (MAVC) is a four-year $45 million fund to support innovation, scaling-up, and research that will deepen existing innovations and help harness new technologies to enable citizen engagement and government responsiveness. More details